JV call-up Zavala's heroics lead
North Shore Country Day past Latin
Raiders stay undefeated in ISL with last-minute goal
By Michael Wojtychiw
WINNETKA -- When Independent School League rivals North Shore Country Day and Latin meet on the pitch, it seems like the match is bound to be a classic.
Both teams usually finish at the north end of the conference standings. Their last five matchups have included three ties, a one-goal North Shore Country Day win and the Romans' two-goal victory in last season's Class A Sectional semifinals.
So when the two undefeated teams took to the Skokie Playfield pitch on a beautiful afternoon, the fans of both schools expected more magic.
That's exactly what they got.
North Shore Country Day (6-0-1, 3-0-0) got a goal from Kai Zavala, who had been training with the junior varsity squad until Wednesday, with about 30 seconds remaining to give the home team a 2-1 win.
"We saw him during preseason, and we never doubted his ability," North Shore Country Day manager Kyle Jones said. "He's been showing that he wants it enough in the JV games, and I said to him 'We want you with us. We've been impressed with what you've been doing.'
"We gave him the opportunity and threw him on with five to go, because he's technical and connects well. His IQ is high. He got to the right spot; it was like slow motion. It went to his feet and boom there it was."
"This is really exciting, especially with the huge student section at home," North Shore Country Day's Walter Luglio said. "They bring us so much energy, because it's all your friends cheering you on."
Both teams knew that coming into the game, they were in for a tough, physical battle.
For the majority of the time, the referees let the teams play. So early play went to the team that could adjust quicker.
The Raiders happened to do so early when Evan Fortier took a nice cross from Luglio and slotted it past Latin keeper Josh Goldhaber in the 10th minute.
"Walter is good at getting down the line and cutting it back for a shot, but where he's most dangerous is when he gets right to the endline and he can slide it in for a tap-in," Fortier said. "I saw it the whole way, saw it the whole way, and it was staring me right in the face. I got blocked at first, but I was there for the rebound and put it in.
"That was huge to get the goal first. Because they're a great team, and we're a great team. We knew it was going to be a battle coming in and getting the first goal sets the tone. We dictated play for the first half, but it's huge momentum."
Latin coach Andrew Sanchez was not pleased with his team’s early performance.
"We played like we were still on the bus today," he said. "In that first half, I wanted us to just wake up, and we didn't. It took us about 35 minutes to get into the game, but we played really well in the second half."
Midway through the first half, Luglio unleashed a shot from afar but saw it go just over the crossbar.
After halftime, Latin became the aggressor and put what seemed like shot after shot on goal, forcing Raiders' keeper Aram Dombalagian to make acrobatic saves on almost every chance.
"It's nerve-wracking to see all that, but our communication stayed strong. We were able to clear it off our lines," Fortier said. "Our keeper played unreal today. He held us together, making insane saves in the first half, blocks with his legs.
"Balls hit absurdly fast, and he has to make these reflex saves. He's always got our backs, talking to us in the back, communicating with everyone really well."
Latin's hard work came to fruition when Ethan Mullens put away a ball in the 59th minute. The goal came after three Latin corner kicks, two Dombalagian saves and a shot by Latin's leading scorer, forward Reeise Remmer, that hit the crossbar but didn't cross the goal line.
"This season, we've been lucky to go into the half with leads and this was our first deficit,” Sanchez said. “It was definitely a learning opportunity for a young team that needed to know desperation. And that's what North Shore provided us."
"We had the fighting spirit,” Jones said. “I told the guys earlier that we know they're a good team. Latin's a terrific team. You obviously don't go undefeated in five matches if you're a bad team.
"I told them I trust in them; they've got great ability, great character. They showed all of that. I couldn't be more proud of how they responded."
Remmer was ejected from the game after having some words with the officials after a couple of calls he disagreed with. That left the visitors with only 10 men left on the field for the final three minutes of the game.
That gave the Raiders just enough time and opportunity to walk off the field with a win.
"We've been working on this a lot in practice, but coach instructed me to take it all the way down the field and right when I get to the post, to cut it back to another player," said Luglio, who assisted on both goals. "It ended up working out for us today."
Both teams now prepare for conference action, as well as the BodyArmor event, which used to be named the Pepsico Showdown. The Romans open with Guilford in their bracket game; and North Shore Country Day battles Mendota at the tournament which begins Sept. 10.
Latin (5-1-0, 1-1-0) plans to start anew.
"We just told the guys to wash this one away," Sanchez said. "This was a tough one, but we see them again, and we see teams at their competition level and teams that are going to be stronger. We need to be prepared for this. We have Latin making a name for itself, now we just have to live up to that."
Starting lineups
Latin School
GK: Josh Goldhaber
D: Cole Goodwillie
D: Zuhair Alsikafi
D: Charlie Leonard
D: Miguel Fernandez
MF: Francisco Mendoza Pena
MF: Quinlan Smith
MF: Cameron Woan
MF: Ethan Mullens
F: Reeise Remmer
F: Armaan Shah
North Shore Country Day
GK: Aram Dombalagian
D: Tae Won Lillig
D: Teddy Gallun
D: Buckley Oelerich
MF: Kyle Banner
MF: Evan Fortier
MF: Benji Leonetti
MF: Henry Gallun
MF: Leif Steele
F: Daniel Becker
F: Walter Luglio
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Kai Zavala, so., MF, North Shore Country Day
Scoring summary
First half
North Shore Country Day - Evan Fortier (Walter Luglio), 10th minute
Second half
Latin School - Ethan Mullens (Cameron Woan), 59th minute
North Shore Country Day - Kai Zavala (Luglio), 80th minute
North Shore Country Day past Latin
Raiders stay undefeated in ISL with last-minute goal
By Michael Wojtychiw
WINNETKA -- When Independent School League rivals North Shore Country Day and Latin meet on the pitch, it seems like the match is bound to be a classic.
Both teams usually finish at the north end of the conference standings. Their last five matchups have included three ties, a one-goal North Shore Country Day win and the Romans' two-goal victory in last season's Class A Sectional semifinals.
So when the two undefeated teams took to the Skokie Playfield pitch on a beautiful afternoon, the fans of both schools expected more magic.
That's exactly what they got.
North Shore Country Day (6-0-1, 3-0-0) got a goal from Kai Zavala, who had been training with the junior varsity squad until Wednesday, with about 30 seconds remaining to give the home team a 2-1 win.
"We saw him during preseason, and we never doubted his ability," North Shore Country Day manager Kyle Jones said. "He's been showing that he wants it enough in the JV games, and I said to him 'We want you with us. We've been impressed with what you've been doing.'
"We gave him the opportunity and threw him on with five to go, because he's technical and connects well. His IQ is high. He got to the right spot; it was like slow motion. It went to his feet and boom there it was."
"This is really exciting, especially with the huge student section at home," North Shore Country Day's Walter Luglio said. "They bring us so much energy, because it's all your friends cheering you on."
Both teams knew that coming into the game, they were in for a tough, physical battle.
For the majority of the time, the referees let the teams play. So early play went to the team that could adjust quicker.
The Raiders happened to do so early when Evan Fortier took a nice cross from Luglio and slotted it past Latin keeper Josh Goldhaber in the 10th minute.
"Walter is good at getting down the line and cutting it back for a shot, but where he's most dangerous is when he gets right to the endline and he can slide it in for a tap-in," Fortier said. "I saw it the whole way, saw it the whole way, and it was staring me right in the face. I got blocked at first, but I was there for the rebound and put it in.
"That was huge to get the goal first. Because they're a great team, and we're a great team. We knew it was going to be a battle coming in and getting the first goal sets the tone. We dictated play for the first half, but it's huge momentum."
Latin coach Andrew Sanchez was not pleased with his team’s early performance.
"We played like we were still on the bus today," he said. "In that first half, I wanted us to just wake up, and we didn't. It took us about 35 minutes to get into the game, but we played really well in the second half."
Midway through the first half, Luglio unleashed a shot from afar but saw it go just over the crossbar.
After halftime, Latin became the aggressor and put what seemed like shot after shot on goal, forcing Raiders' keeper Aram Dombalagian to make acrobatic saves on almost every chance.
"It's nerve-wracking to see all that, but our communication stayed strong. We were able to clear it off our lines," Fortier said. "Our keeper played unreal today. He held us together, making insane saves in the first half, blocks with his legs.
"Balls hit absurdly fast, and he has to make these reflex saves. He's always got our backs, talking to us in the back, communicating with everyone really well."
Latin's hard work came to fruition when Ethan Mullens put away a ball in the 59th minute. The goal came after three Latin corner kicks, two Dombalagian saves and a shot by Latin's leading scorer, forward Reeise Remmer, that hit the crossbar but didn't cross the goal line.
"This season, we've been lucky to go into the half with leads and this was our first deficit,” Sanchez said. “It was definitely a learning opportunity for a young team that needed to know desperation. And that's what North Shore provided us."
"We had the fighting spirit,” Jones said. “I told the guys earlier that we know they're a good team. Latin's a terrific team. You obviously don't go undefeated in five matches if you're a bad team.
"I told them I trust in them; they've got great ability, great character. They showed all of that. I couldn't be more proud of how they responded."
Remmer was ejected from the game after having some words with the officials after a couple of calls he disagreed with. That left the visitors with only 10 men left on the field for the final three minutes of the game.
That gave the Raiders just enough time and opportunity to walk off the field with a win.
"We've been working on this a lot in practice, but coach instructed me to take it all the way down the field and right when I get to the post, to cut it back to another player," said Luglio, who assisted on both goals. "It ended up working out for us today."
Both teams now prepare for conference action, as well as the BodyArmor event, which used to be named the Pepsico Showdown. The Romans open with Guilford in their bracket game; and North Shore Country Day battles Mendota at the tournament which begins Sept. 10.
Latin (5-1-0, 1-1-0) plans to start anew.
"We just told the guys to wash this one away," Sanchez said. "This was a tough one, but we see them again, and we see teams at their competition level and teams that are going to be stronger. We need to be prepared for this. We have Latin making a name for itself, now we just have to live up to that."
Starting lineups
Latin School
GK: Josh Goldhaber
D: Cole Goodwillie
D: Zuhair Alsikafi
D: Charlie Leonard
D: Miguel Fernandez
MF: Francisco Mendoza Pena
MF: Quinlan Smith
MF: Cameron Woan
MF: Ethan Mullens
F: Reeise Remmer
F: Armaan Shah
North Shore Country Day
GK: Aram Dombalagian
D: Tae Won Lillig
D: Teddy Gallun
D: Buckley Oelerich
MF: Kyle Banner
MF: Evan Fortier
MF: Benji Leonetti
MF: Henry Gallun
MF: Leif Steele
F: Daniel Becker
F: Walter Luglio
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Kai Zavala, so., MF, North Shore Country Day
Scoring summary
First half
North Shore Country Day - Evan Fortier (Walter Luglio), 10th minute
Second half
Latin School - Ethan Mullens (Cameron Woan), 59th minute
North Shore Country Day - Kai Zavala (Luglio), 80th minute